Tatars

Tatars are a Turkic people living in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. The Tatars originated in the Mongolian plateau, but they were later pushed west by the Mongol Empire, either being the Turkic peoples subjugated by the Mongols or the Mongols themselves. Therefore, some of the people considered Tatars are of Mongol descent, while others are of Turkic descent. The Mongols penetrated up to Eastern Europe in Poland, explaining why there is a sizeable minority of Tatars in the countries of Eastern Europe up to Poland and Finland. Significant Tatar groups are the Azerbaijanis (35,000,000 in the world), Volga Tatars (over 5,000,000 in Russia), Crimean Tatars (6,500,000 in the world, mostly in Turkey), and Lipka Tatars (15,000 in Eastern Europe); historically, the Bolghars, Cumans, Kipchaks, Nogai, and Kyrgyz peoples have all been considered to be Tatars or ancestors of the Tatars.